The regulation of cell death is crucial for the life living beings. The programmed cell death (PCD) can be triggered by extra- or intracellular signals under physiological (PCD is essential for normal development and tissue homeostasis) or pathological conditions for eliminating impaired cells (notably with uncontrolled cell proliferation). The dysregulation of PCD contributes to a variety of human pathologies including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and inflammatory diseases. The discovery of chemical modulators of PCD opens up promising prospects, particularly in anti-cancer therapy, but also in fundamental research, to improve our understanding of the molecular regulations involved. In the context of this thesis, various marine metabolites (pigments and purified metabolites from Mediterranean and Atlantic sponges, notably from the sponges Crambe tailliezi et Crambe crambe) were used to inhibit or activate non-canonical PCD. The cell death induced by the high molecular weight metabolite (2200-2800 Da), called P3, purified from the sponge Crambe tailliezi, was notably studied. P3 is a cytotoxic metabolite that induces a necrostatin-1 inhibitable caspase-independent apoptosis in human osteosarcoma cells (U-2 OS). P3 was also characterized as a new inhibitor of Aurora A and B mitotic kinases. Taken together, these results shed light on the huge potential of marine chemodiversity to open new perspectives for both applied and fundamental research.